Armory

Karen S. Kim Glendale could be getting a new park, but its California National Guard armory might be heading to Burbank. City officials and the National Guard have spent more than six months cooking up a land swap that could bring more park space to Glendale and Burbank, while prompting the construction of an expanded armory facility at the Burbank Airport. The deal would require the California National Guard in both cities to combine operations and move to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport.

Karen S. Kim State legislators will need to do a lot of the heavy lifting if Glendale and Burbank hope to ever move their National Guard armories to the Burbank Airport. The move, which would require the construction of a new armory facility, would free up valuable real estate in both cities for parks. But before the National Guard starts packing its bags, local legislators will need to find enough state and federal sources of money for the project.

BURBANK — A 150-bed county winter homeless shelter for the tri-city area will open next week in Burbank after the City Council there voted 4-0 Tuesday to support the program at the National Guard armory. The vote capped off a two-week lobbying effort on the part of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to use the Burbank site after the California National Guard announced on Oct. 29 that the armory in Glendale — which has hosted the shelter for the past 10 years — would be closed for repairs.

It is time for the city of Burbank to step up. For more than a decade, Glendale has hosted the winter shelter that serves the homeless population of a tri-city area. But this year, Glendale’s armory is closed for maintenance, so county officials are asking Burbank to host the shelter for one year only at its armory. And while it shouldn’t even be up to the city of Burbank to decide whether the county runs a winter shelter out of a state-owned building — it is. Los Angeles County officials decided this week to leave it up to Burbank to decide whether it would host the shelter for just this one year.

Gretchen Hoffman GLENDALE -- It's been said that waiting is the hardest part. But for the families of Glendale National Guardsmen who have received their mobilization orders, the hardest part may be just beginning. The clues were there -- warnings of "imminent deployment" and military haircuts, but for some, the reality didn't hit home until the official mobilization orders came in. Families were briefed by National Guard officials Sunday about what they can expect in the upcoming months.

Amber Willard SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- Most of the state National Guardsmen at the Glendale armory didn't look nervous Wednesday about their imminent deployment. "It's a very patriotic time," said 19-year city employee Robert Torres, who is a sergeant in the unit assembled at the armory that morning. "Waiting is the hardest part." Torres works as a heavy equipment operator for Glendale Water and Power. Although the city is evaluating its leave policy for military personnel, Torres will receive one month's paid leave, officials said.

CITY HALL ? County officials told Glendale?s Homeless Coalition Thursday that financial incentives for emergency winter shelter operators would be increased in a bid to attract more applicants, a year after they scrambled to find a service provider for the program at the Burbank armory. Providers of services for the homeless in Glendale last year declined to participate in the winter shelter program, which is funded through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, citing past difficulties in dealing with red tape and securing expense reimbursements.

I write to salute the News-Press for your accurate courageous assessment of the situation in your editorial on the homeless shelter. I heard the Glendale Housing Authority's televised discussion about this matter and it was not at all clear why so many sites were deemed unacceptable for use by the people looking for a shelter location. Is it possible city staff may be looking for a perfect answer to bring before their picky, power-mad political masters?

Tim Willert National Guard troops based in Glendale and Burbank will leave behind their families and civilian lives today in the name of homeland defense. The troops will supplement security at Air Force bases throughout California, Army National Guard spokesman Tom Mullen said Friday. "I think it's important for people to remember that we still have a significant possible threat in this country, and we should be prepared for that," Mullen said.

For the first time in several years, the Glendale emergency winter shelter may not be located at the National Guard Armory, a downtown site that has sparked controversy in the past, in large part because of its proximity to the Central Library and shopping centers. Instead, the 80-bed shelter program is slated to be split into two sites near the city's southern border with Los Angeles. Both locations will be operated by Ascencia, Glendale's largest homeless services provider. “The armory is really not a good location for us,” said Natalie Profant Komuro, executive director of Ascencia, during a Homeless Coalition meeting at City Hall Thursday. In addition to community issues, the armory often has black-out dates when it's being used for training purposes, requiring shelter operators to find temporary housing for the homeless - often in local churches.

DOWNTOWN — A year after closing its doors amid a controversial stay in Burbank, the regional homeless shelter moved back to the National Guard Armory in Glendale, where despite seeing a 74% rise in the number of clients, operators reported a smooth winter season. The 150-capacity refuge in the 200 block of East Colorado Street served 958 homeless people between Dec. 1 and March 2, up from 549 in 2008-09. The typical nightly average of about 100 occupants skyrocketed to roughly 165, officials said.

GLENDALE — After a two-year absence from Glendale, the Los Angeles County winter homeless shelter is expected to officially return to the National Guard Armory near downtown, officials said. Glendale’s armory on Colorado Street had hosted the program, which is administered and funded by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, for more than 10 years, but in 2007, it was moved to Burbank to allow for construction and building upgrades. The move to Burbank got a relatively warm reception, but last year, residents living near the Burbank armory started to complain, sparking community meetings and discord on the Burbank City Council on what to do with the shelter.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — An event Thursday meant to connect transients with health and social services at the Glendale armory showed another troubling economic indicator — more low-income residents, on the brink of homelessness, seeking help. Homeless Connect Day, an event held nationwide Thursday, attracted dozens of chronically homeless people from throughout the Glendale region with the promise of free meals, manicures, clothes and haircuts, and then directed them to government and nonprofit services.

GLENDALE — A winter shelter for the homeless will open Monday for the second consecutive year at the Burbank National Guard Armory, to provide shelter for up to 150 people during the year’s coldest months. The armory will host the shelter through March 15, said Andy Bales, director of the Los Angeles Union Rescue Mission, which runs the program. “We really think it’s important to get them out of the cold and rain,” he said. The Burbank City Council in October approved hosting the tri-city shelter, which had been the Glendale armory for more than 10 years.

CITY HALL — County officials have contracted with Los Angeles-based Union Rescue Mission to again operate this year’s homeless winter shelter at the Burbank armory, less than a year after a last-minute push to host the shelter there forced community dialogue over the city’s role in homeless services. The commitment comes three months earlier than it did last year, when county officials were scrambling to find an alternative to the Glendale National Guard Armory, which had hosted the tri-city area shelter for more than a decade but was unavailable amid major renovations.

CITY HALL ? County officials told Glendale?s Homeless Coalition Thursday that financial incentives for emergency winter shelter operators would be increased in a bid to attract more applicants, a year after they scrambled to find a service provider for the program at the Burbank armory. Providers of services for the homeless in Glendale last year declined to participate in the winter shelter program, which is funded through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, citing past difficulties in dealing with red tape and securing expense reimbursements.

There is no good reason why in a region where Burbank and Glendale’s combined general funds total more than $1 billion that the two cities can’t come up with $49,000 to keep a winter homeless shelter from shutting its doors a couple of weeks early. The shelter — which struggled to open, but did thanks to outraged residents who demanded it — serves the area’s chronically homeless, who now may lose a vital place for shelter in early March. The Union Rescue Mission, which operates the fledgling shelter at the Burbank armory, needs $49,000 to keep it open until its originally scheduled closing date, March 15. But if the funding gap isn’t filled — and soon — the people who use the shelter will be back on the cold, hard streets on the night of March 3, two weeks too soon.